The present invention generally relates to the field of impact crushers and, more particularly, to a vertical shaft impactor apparatus with improved designs for reducing its size and enhancing the accessibility and replaceability of components for maintaining the apparatus.
Impact crushing apparatuses are known and employed in various industries for reducing materials such as rock, concrete, brick, stone, and other materials into smaller shapes and sizes for further use or disposal of. In a typical impact crushing apparatus, materials are fed into a chamber and onto a rotating feed disk. The material is thrown from the center of the rotating feed disk at high speeds via centrifugal forces against an impact surface and the material is broken into smaller pieces.
Impact crushing apparatuses are generally very large and consume significant floor space. In addition, an exemplary crushing apparatus includes a drive unit, such as an electric motor, required to rotate the feed disk. The electric motor usually has to be positioned near the feed disk and attached to the housing that encloses the chamber to tension drive belts and other drive components. This further increases the size of the space needed for the crushing apparatus. The drive unit is connected to and drives a shaft, which in turn is connected to the feed disk.
Impact crushing apparatuses that are of the vertical shaft type also are subject to the so-called “flag pole effect.” In general, the flag pole effect is a result of the location of a mounting flange of a bearing cartridge. Rotor imbalance causes a force to be acted upon the rotor and this force has a lever arm equal to the distance between the force and the mounting flange with which to shake the mill. In prior art impact crushing apparatuses, the bearing cartridge was mounted at the bottom of the cartridge approximately 20 inches below the rotor and mechanical shaking caused the shaft to bend.
Impact crushing apparatuses also present maintenance difficulties due to their size and configuration. For example, replacing a worn anvil may require a person to remove the lid of the housing and reach over the side of the housing to gain access to the anvil ring that holds the anvils. The anvil ring must then be removed before the worn anvil can be removed and replaced. In other words, replacing an anvil requires the apparatus to be opened and this presents additional disadvantages, such as exposing the person to injury from sharp debris inside the chamber and delaying the crushing operation for maintenance.
The components of these impact crushing apparatuses that are exposed to the flow of material are subject to wear, which may be caused by abrasion, grinding, decomposition, impact, and the like. At least one surface of the impeller shoe and/or anvil makes contact with the material and requires replacement or maintenance depending on the amount of use. This can be expensive and increase the amount of downtime associated with the crushing operation.
Based on at least these reasons, there is a need to improve the design and configuration of the impact crushing apparatus. More specifically, there is a need for a more compact impact crushing apparatus that is small and easier to maintain.